


There are Other Things to Give Your Life Meaning

by anavrin89



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Will add more tags as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:49:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28871844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anavrin89/pseuds/anavrin89
Summary: After a freak collision, Oikawa Tooru is left with a torn ACL and a shattered world.
Relationships: Oikawa Tooru/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Kudos: 9





	1. I Came to See You

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first multi-chapter story that I am actually posting and I kinda excited to see where I'm gonna end up with this
> 
> Thank you for reading! :)

The squeak of Wakatoshi’s shoes against the gymnasium floor was deafening against the silence. He said nothing as he walked over to meet Tooru at his spot on the metal bench placed on the side of the court, just kept walking until he made it to his destination. He bent down to place a finger under Tooru’s chin and lift his head up.

“Hey, Tooru.”

Tooru hadn’t asked him to come, what was he doing here? He was supposed to be at home in Japan.

“What are you doing here, Wakatoshi?”

“I got a call from one of your teammates yesterday, and I saw on the news earlier. I came as soon as I heard. I’m so sorry.”

Wakatoshi pulled Tooru into his arms as Tooru burst into tears, sobbing into Wakatoshi’s chest, getting snot and tears on his white tee. They stayed like that for a while before Tooru calmed down and his sobs were reduced to sniffles and shaky breaths. Wakatoshi pulled a small, blue, plastic package of Kleenex out of his back pocket and took one out to wipe Tooru’s face. He wiped the snot and tears from his face with gentle strokes and rubbed the tears stains off his cheeks with his thumbs.

“How bad is it?” Wakatoshi asked, speaking softly.

Tooru sniffled quietly again before replying.

“Torn ACL. The team doctor checked me out for right now, but we’re just waiting until we can get to Argentina so I can see my primary care physician. She said then we’ll know more about how extensive it is and how we can hopefully fix it.”

“Hurt a lot?” Wakatoshi asked with a quiet chuckle.

  
  


“Yeah, hurts like hell,” Tooru said, giving a small laugh in response, “Why’d you come Wakatoshi? I mean, didn’t your therapist say you should stay away from volleyball for now, since your injury?”

“Yeah, she did,” Wakatoshi replied, rubbing the back of his neck, “She said I’d only be upsetting myself further by being near it but I think she can make an exception. Besides, it’s not like I came to see the game, I came to see you.”

Tooru gave a small smile. It was like that was Wakatoshi’s way of saying I love you. He and Wakatoshi weren’t exclusive, they had decided they weren’t going to do long distance while Tooru was in Argentina, but he still knew Wakatoshi loved him. He was actually going to ask Wakatoshi to be his boyfriend once the season ended in a few weeks. Guess he could do it now since his season was dramatically cut short.

He remembered the moment it happened. It kept replaying in his head on loop. They were at an away game in America, against one of America’s best teams. He had been going in for a set that would require him to squat low to the ground in the middle of the court, and made it successfully, allowing his teammate to spike the ball, but the other team’s blockers smacked the ball down, and his team’s libero collided with him, trying to keep the ball up. That was when Tooru felt the tear and the sharp pain shoot through his knee. He let out a loud yelp and collapsed to the ground, clutching his right knee. He remembers hearing the ball land in their court as his teammates and coach rushed to his side, and the worried words of the team’s trainer, asking him what hurt. All he could do was cry and shout as the trainer and nurse on standby lifted him up off the floor and onto the stretcher next to him, carrying him away for examination.

He must have been lost in thought for a few minutes because he was abruptly snapped back into reality by Wakatoshi.

“Tooru, are you okay?”

Tooru shook his head and looked up at Wakatoshi.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking and I got a little lost in thought. Sorry about that.” he replied sheepishly.

“It’s okay, don’t be sorry. It’s hard, I know, but you’ll get through it. Just don’t give up.” 

“Thanks.”

“No problem,” Wakatoshi said, kissing the top of Tooru’s head as he stood up, “Do you wanna go?”

Tooru lightly nodded, and tried to stand up, but stopped and flopped back onto the bench hissing through his teeth when pain attacked his knee. Wakatoshi noticed and picked Tooru up bridal style, being careful not to hurt his knee when he wrapped an arm under Tooru’s leg.

“Thank you. I know, it’s kinda ridiculous.”

“Nonsense, Tooru. Besides, I’ve always wanted to pick you up and carry you like this.” Wakatoshi announced, giving Tooru a genuine smile. He didn’t often smile at others but smiled at Tooru whenever he was given the opportunity. Another reassurance of his love for the brunette.

Wakatoshi walked to his rental car, opened the door, and placed Tooru in the passenger seat. Tooru sat up a little and buckled himself in while Wakatoshi walked to the other side of the car and ducked into the driver’s side. By now it was dark, around 9:30 at night. Tooru had stayed to watch his teammates practice in the gymnasium after he visited the team’s physical fitness trainer, to get another, slightly more thorough, examination of his knee. 

Wakatoshi had already started the car and started to pull out of his parking spot.

“Where are you staying?” Tooru asked, breaking the silence in the car.

“I got a hotel room in town,” Wakatoshi responded, resting his arm on the back of Tooru’s seat headrest as he looked behind him to pull out of the parking lot.

There was another silence as Tooru mustered up the courage to ask if he could stay with Wakatoshi for the night.

“Hey, I know it’s a lot, but could I stay with you tonight. I got my own hotel room instead of sharing with a teammate and I don’t wanna be alone tonight.” Tooru asked quietly.

“Of course. It's not a lot. I mean, I came here specifically to see you didn’t I?” Wakatoshi replied as he reached over to take Tooru’s hand in his and squeeze it gently.

“Right,” Tooru giggled softly, “I’m gonna text one of my teammates and see if they can bring me down my bag with my pajamas in it.”

“The alien ones?” Wakatoshi teased glancing over at Tooru.

“Yes, the alien ones. They are comfy and stylish and I like them.” Tooru said sticking his tongue out.

They got Tooru’s things from his teammates and got to Wakatoshi’s hotel room safely. Wakatoshi carried him in with protest from Tooru saying he was embarrassed that he had to be carried everywhere and insisting he could walk on his own, but Wakatoshi ignored them and made his way to his room, scanning the key and walking in. It was barren, save Wakatoshi’s suitcase tucked into the small space just inside the door.

He set Tooru down on one of the beds and turned the bedside lamp on, illuminating the small corner of the room they had settled in. Then, he opened Tooru’s bag and helped him get into his alien pajamas and get into the bathroom to brush their teeth. They came back out and Wakatoshi placed Tooru back on the bed, helping him tuck in and lay in a comfortable position for his knee. He turned to walk away but Tooru grabbed his arm and stopped him.

“Lay with me.”

“Are you sure? Won’t it hurt your knee?” Wakatoshi asked, worry evident in his tone.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. I just wanna cuddle.”

Wakatoshi’s expression softened and he strolled to the other side of the bed and slid under the covers next to Tooru, wrapping his arms around the smaller man.

“Thank you for this. I’m sorry I’m being so needy it's just-”

“Shh, it's okay,” Wakatoshi shushed him, “It's not irregular to be needy in a time like this. I am just grateful I am the one you are being needy to.”

“Such a romantic,” Tooru playfully jabbed, “Did you eat yet?”

“No, but I ate a lot on the plane because I couldn’t really sleep. I’m kind of jet-lagged from it, so it all worked out because now we can sleep.” Wakatoshi added with a yawn.

“Okay,” Tooru said, snuggling closer to Wakatoshi’s chest, ”Goodnight, ‘Toshi.”

“Goodnight, Tooru.”


	2. Iridescence, IHOP, and Alien Pajamas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically, just a fluffy filler chapter before the story starts to really get in motion. I actually like how this turned out.
> 
> Thank you for reading! :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, Iwa has a lizard named Godzilla, that's canon, no I do not take criticism.

The next morning, Tooru awoke to the sun shining bright in his face through the open beige hotel curtains. He put a hand up to block out the sun and glanced over to the man lying next to him. Wakatoshi was still asleep, snoring ever so lightly, and positioned so that the sunlight hit his face perfectly, cascading over the tanned skin, making him appear angelic. The golden rays hung over his head while he slept soundly, and Tooru sat up to admire all of his beauty.

Though he and Wakatoshi weren’t dating, he knew that Wakatoshi’s heart belonged to him, and that made the sight set before him all the sweeter. 

Tooru must have woken him up when he shifted his weight to sit up, because the olive-haired man stirred and cracked open his eyelids a tiny bit, letting the early morning sun-beams make his gold eyes glow, captivating Tooru as he stared right into them. 

“Good morning,” he said, voice drowsy, as he reached a hand up to put it against Tooru’s cheek.

Tooru leaned into the touch, bringing his own hand up to hold the back of Wakatoshi’s.

“Did you sleep well?” he asked, absentmindedly rubbing his thumb over Wakatoshi’s hand.

“Yes, I did, How about you?” 

Tooru avoided the question, not wanting to tell him about the lack of sleep due to his excessive thoughts and nightmares that plagued his mind when he was finally able to lull himself to sleep.

“Do you wanna go get breakfast?” he said dodging the subject. 

“Sure,” Wakatoshi replied, sitting up, “This hotel has free breakfast, or we can go out to a local diner. Maybe IHOP? I saw one on the way here from the airport.”

The airport. He was so caught up in the moment that he forgot Wakatoshi would have to go back to Japan eventually, by the end of the week most likely. Nevertheless, Tooru tried to think positive, after all, he still had the rest of the week if he was right. He also had the little reminder that Wakatoshi flew all the way across the world for  _ him _ on such short notice.

“Yeah, IHOP sounds amazing right now.”

“Good because I’m starving.”

He met his eyes and they both laughed, giggling for no reason in particular. In this very moment, Tooru felt so happy, so giddy, so high, so  _ loved _ .

Wakatoshi got up and headed over to slip his shoes on, bringing Tooru’s over to him on the bed when he finished putting his sneakers on. Tooru bent over to put his left shoe on while Wakatoshi carefully put the other shoe on his right foot, being cautious of moving Tooru’s knee.

Tooru was about to stand up when Wakatoshi gently pushed him down by his chest, before walking over to the small space near the door and emerging with a pair of steel crutches. 

“Your team trainer dropped these off last night, said we could just adjust them as needed,” Wakatoshi stated, taking Tooru’s hand and helping him stand.

“When I don’t remember anyone coming to the door?”

“About a half of an hour after you fell asleep.”

  
  
  


They walked into the IHOP, both still half-asleep, and followed the waitress to their table. She kept eyeing Tooru as they walked and it wasn’t until they sat down that Tooru realized he was still in his pajamas.

“Ohmygosh.” Tooru blurted

“What,” Wakatoshi said, looking up from his menu, “Oh. Hahaha.”

“It’s not funny. Not only am I still in my pajamas but they’re the most embarrassing pair. I’m so humiliated.” Tooru hissed, face turning bright red as other patrons started to stare too.

“Come on, it is a tiny bit funny. Besides, this probably is not the weirdest thing this restaurant has seen.” Wakatoshi responded, holding his phone up in front of him.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing.”

“Are you taking a picture of me?”

“Yup. Sending it to Iwaizumi. And I’m telling him that you said the pajamas he got you were embarrassing.” Wakatoshi teased, sticking his tongue out.

“No you’re not,” Oikawa shot back, reaching across the table to grab Wakatoshi’s phone from his hand, “Give it to me, you big brat.”

“Nope.”

Oikawa lunged across the table at him, not realizing there was a cup right in front of him, and ended up spilling Wakatoshi’s coffee all over his lap, effectively making it look like Wakatoshi had peed himself.

They both gasped, Tooru bringing his hands up over his mouth, as Wakatoshi looked down at his lap then up at him.

“Oh my gosh, ‘Toshi, I am so sorry. I-”

But he was cut off by the sound of laughter erupting from the man in front of him. Oikawa was shocked at first but started to laugh along until they were both captured in a fit of giggles.

“Well, now you’re not the only one wearing something embarrassing. I look like I peed myself!” Wakatoshi announced, still laughing.

Tooru gave another lighthearted chuckle. “So, you still talk to Iwa-chan?”

“Yeah, he checks up on me once a week. Asks about my recovery, how I’m coping, sometimes he sends me a picture of his lizard when he’s at home to make me feel better. Honestly, it helps, and his lizard is very cute.”

“He got a lizard?”

“Yep.”

“Why am I not surprised,” Tooru added, “So what did he name it? Wait, no, let me guess….. Godzilla!”

“Uh, yeah, actually,” Wakatoshi said with a goofy looking smile.

“Nuh-uh. You’re joking.” 

Wakatoshi only shook his head, saying no, no, he wasn’t joking about Iwaizumi naming his pet lizard Godzilla.

“What kind of lizard is it?”

“I think he said it was a Spiny-Tailed lizard. Maybe, I don’t know.”

Tooru was about to add another comment about how predictable it was for Iwaizumi to name his lizard Godzilla when the pair’s food came to their table.

“Thank you,” they said politely once they received their plates.

They both dug in at the same time.

“Mmmm. You know, I don’t know if it is just because I was really hungry or if it is because I haven’t had IHOP in a while, but this tastes amazing.” Wakatoshi said as he ate.

“Probably a little bit of both. When was the last time you ate IHOP anyway?”

“When I visited my dad last. He took me to the original one, it's in California.”

“Really? I never knew.” 

They talked in between bites for the rest of their visit, talking about everything and nothing, until it was time to leave. 

Wakatoshi paid, protests from Tooru ignored, and they got up to leave.

“I’m thinking maybe we could do something today. If you would like to.”

“Oh yes definitely. But, first, can we go home and get changed? I look like a five-year-old and you still look like you pissed yourself.”

They laughed again, Wakatoshi kissing the top of Tooru’s head as he replied

“Yeah, I was thinking maybe we should change first too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to look up how long IHOP has been around for (not really sure why) and found out that it was founded in 1958 and the first-ever IHOP was made in Burbank, California so it could be entirely canon that Ushi and his dad took a lil trip when Ushi visited to this specific IHOP. I looked it up and apparently its a 45 minute drive from Irvine to Burbank so it is literally entirely possibly that they did this. Just a lil fun fact.
> 
> Thank you for reading! :)

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter down, hopefully, many more to come.
> 
> Thank you for reading! :)


End file.
